TRENTON - The standoff in Trenton involving an armed men who held children hostage for 36 hours after police discovered his girlfriend and her child killed is over, authorities said this morning.

The children are safe, Mercer County First Assistant Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said.

The suspect, who has not been identified, is in custody but there was no immediate word on his condition. Onofri was not able to say whether the man surrendered on his own, but said full details will be released at a 10 a.m. press conference.

Video from the scene showed what appeared to be a flash and an audible loud bang on the second floor of the house early this morning.

The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General shooting response team is investigating "take down" of the subject, authorities said this morning.

There were no injuries to law enforcement, Onofri said. The three children were rescued at around 4 a.m., according to the State Police.

Family members said three children, ranging in age from 4 to 17 years old, were being held captive inside the home on the 200 block of Grand Street. Law enforcement sources said a fourth child had been killed by the suspect, along with the mother of the children, prior to police arrival around 3 p.m. Friday.

According to the family members, the unidentified man is not the father of the children.

Family members have identified the dead woman as Carmen Stevens, 42. She and her children had been living with the man for less than two months.

Trenton police came to the house and found the mother's body, but withdrew after they saw the man was armed. This sparked the lengthy standoff, which shut down a portion of the South Ward and involved dozens of law enforcement officers from city police, the Mercer County Sheriff's Office, Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, FBI, and New Jersey State Police. The State Police assumed tactical control Friday evening.

Negotiations with the man commenced just a few hours after the hostage crisis began, with the first goal of getting him to hand over the children.

Throughout the day Saturday, troopers in tactical attire were seen going in and out the back door of the home, bringing in items and sometimes staying for extended periods of time.